Aeroacoustics

Understand the fundamental mechanisms of wind plant noise generation, propagation, and reception through new science, technology, and education to answer critical questions, address public concerns about wind turbine noise, provide additional physics-based data required for regulators to establish sound policies, and enable development of practical noise reduction methods and technologies.

Acoustic emissions and transmission must be examined as a plant issue, especially with larger wind plants. To provide better physical understanding of the noise generation and propagation mechanisms that dictate wind plant noise, including turbine source noise, wind turbine interactions, and far-field propagation in various environments, the combination of high-performance computing modeling capabilities and improved comprehension of the acoustic emission features that are most important for avoiding annoyance will be integrated into wind plant optimization studies to accurately apply the appropriate constraints.